From: Junko Mitani Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 11:50:20 +0000 Subject: Guardians Book III, Pt.1 *This is the "Guardians - Book III: Wrestling Illusions", Pt. I. There will be Book IV to follow. *Disclaimers - Please read off the top of the Book I, part one. Thank you for getting this far. Prescott Hospital - Mulder's Room Noon Same Day "Are you sure about this, Mr. Kathler? You're still in a lot of pain, and I personally..." The doctor's voice was cut short by the notebook thrust in his hand from the stubborn patient in front of him. He sighed and read the scribbled words. "Look! I need to be as sane as I can without blacking out with pain. The drugs are making me nauseous. It's forcing me to think slowly, and I have a hell of a lot to catch up. I don't mean to be difficult, but as your patient, I have the right to consider my treatment options. As long as I stay quiet in my bed, nothing will go wrong. All I have to put up with are the pain and the flu. All I want is to reduce the painkiller dosage. I'm not asking you to stay out of my room." The doctor shook his head in disbelief, but agreed with him in the end. Beside them, Scully sat in her designated chair, her head slightly lowered, but her eyes were looking up directly at the doctor. Her pursed lips told the doctor she advised against it before she made the call. "All right, you asked for it. Don't blame me if you wake up in the middle of the night screaming." The doctor said as he left the with the shot of anesthetics. Mulder was already wincing inside, but refused to show it. Scully knew the truth, however. "Mulder, I know how much you want to start catching up, but you have the flu, and..." Scully's words were also cut short by his hand reaching for hers. He scribbled and handed her the notepad. Scully was already used to the method of conversation, and knew to wait until he's finished writing. "I know what I have because you told me. I'm not going anywhere, and I'll take whatever the treatment they give me. I'm only reducing the painkillers in my system. That's all." Scully accepted the decision, but she already knew he didn't take his pain pills the night before, nor in the morning, nothing for more than half the day. It was hard for her to have to ignore the level of pain her partner was experiencing. But then, she was doing a pretty good job ignoring her own pains. She still changed bandages every day whenever she stepped out of the room to freshen up. And so far, it was healing nicely. By late afternoon, Mulder was coughing, sneezing and blowing his nose. The pain his body responded with every time he coughed made him pale. He followed doctors' orders to the letter but stubbornly kept refusing pain medications. Eventually it had gotten bad enough for Mulder to order Scully out of the room to prevent her contracting the flu from him. But Scully knew it was because he didn't want her to have to see him like this. If he was shot or recovering from some nasty extraterrestrial virus attacks, he would very much appreciate her company. But when she has to put up with his shortened temper, expression and complaint of pain he wasn't able to hold back, plus the constant noise of coughing, sneezing, and blowing of his nose it was just too much an embarrassment for him to bear. Scully stayed in the staff meeting room, reviewing the case files saved in her laptop and making entry on her field journal. She even called her mother in Baltimore and had her retrieve a spare key to Mulder's apartment she kept in her own apartment. "Mom, he's hospitalized while working undercover. I'm afraid it's been a month, and someone needs to feed his fish and possibly change water." She couldn't believe what she was asking her mother to do. "Mom, he has an automatic feeder for the fish. It keeps dropping certain amount of food every day for a month. I gave it to him for Christmas so he wouldn't have to worry about them. But it's probably close to empty by now. His mail must be stacking up, too. I don't want him coming home and find no running water or power. Let alone an eviction notice." She knew she had taken care of everything because her mother was getting her mail. Plus, she kept addresses for the utility companies, and sent out her checks in time. Something Mulder wouldn't even think of doing. "Is Fox hurt again?" She asked with a genuine concern that only a mother can express. Scully briefed her on his condition, just to the extent of telling her he had three fractured ribs, contracted a flu and a badly broken jaw is preventing him from telling her thanks in person. "Oh, dear. Well, at least it's not life-threatening." Margaret Scully had married a Navy captain, raised two sons who are in Navy to follow their father's legacy and had a daughter in FBI whose occupational hazards were probably higher than both her brothers combined. She knew what was serious and what wasn't. She had a tremendously strong stomach and an iron will that had passed onto her children and won Mulder's complete trust and adoration. Scully knew Margaret cared for Mulder as if he was a part of the family, and Mulder in turn returned the favor though he didn't show it unless he felt it right. Scully had no clue why he still felt as an outsider even after four years of knowing her family, but then she knew how much he respected her and her family's privacy. Her missing for three months plus Melissa's death had prevented him from getting in too deep no matter how much he wanted to. She had been lucky to have a warm, stable home to return to while growing up. Sure, they moved a lot, but the family always stuck together. "Yeah, he's handful as usual. He ordered the doctors to reduce his pain medication to close to none, and he just ordered me out of his room so I won't have to see or hear him suffer. He's so stubborn it frustrates me." "Dana, honey. You know this isn't the first time, and it won't be the last." Scully could picture Margaret shaking her head with a slight smile on her lips. She returned the smile. "Thanks, Mom. I love you, and I miss you. Mulder misses you, too." Scully was sure of it, although he may not remember how much they'd cared for each other during the investigation. Margaret's soft laughter and the sweet I love you were her answer. Fairfield Central Hospital ICU Staff Meeting Room Fairfield, CA 7PM Same Day Skinner compared the two images, one from a sketch book he gave to Vera, and the other from a printed enlarged copy of the computer-scanned sketch. Then nodded. "Yes, they're certainly the same. So how much have you found out, Agent Mulder?" Knowing the guards are right outside the thin glass door, he asked Jake who stood across from him, bending forward onto the round table in front of them. "I've questioned Vera. Mostly in the same manner we've been using since the day we've met. I give her about three alternatives and she picks the right one. So far, she doesn't remember where she lived, but she remembers her parents, and her mother's advancing cancer. She remembers her parents' murder vaguely. It was apparent she had witnessed the murder but not the details. She remembers Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas mornings but again, vaguely." "And she remembers nothing about how to speak, how to write or read? Kathler, she does have the capability of learning any language she wants to, and I believe her parents did teach her English. You're the only one who can pull it out of her. Mulder maybe able to help, but neither Scully nor I will risk another panic attack from Vera." Skinner said, leaning in close and studying every detail of the two identical images in front of him. "But if she doesn't have to mask the images by added layers of other images, maybe she's remembering them ...without fear. Look, I don't know if you've noticed, but when she came back, something was different. She demanded a lot of attention from us, but she was much stronger than before. Mentally, and possibly physically. I know she has the branched DNA that you guys are treating with antibiotics, but it just might be a good time to try to bring her memory back. I know she hasn't lost as much as we were led to believe." "You can really lose her this time if you don't be careful." Skinner's reluctance was the same one Jake had before coming to understand what an X-File investigation required. He told Skinner he ask Vera herself for consent. But just as Skinner tried to exit the room, Jake reached for him and physically stopped him, though never roughly. Skinner froze on spot, not used to anyone grabbing him. "What did you tell her?" "Excuse me?" Jake already knew not to take the man's reaction at face value. "What did you tell her that was so terrible it made her cry? I know how much it takes for her to cry. I've only seen her do it three times. Once when I took her to a business meeting where twelve angry, sweating men threw accusations at me and Vera at once to crucify us. Second time when I first saw her in this hospital after her return. Then the last time, just two days ago in her room. Not any other time. Now what the hell did you tell her?" His voice was a carefully controlled whisper, but his cold eyes betrayed his tone. "It had to do with her past. About her parents and what they did to save her life. It was something she needed to know. Now excuse me." Skinner said with a slight nod that indicated the conversation was over. Jake got out of the man's way and watched as Skinner made his rather hasty exit. 'Yeah', Jake thought. 'He's definitely hiding something.' This was something that was stuck in his mind, and he needed it out. Scully was the closest person to Mulder. She might know something. "What is it, Jake?" Jake took a deep breath, making sure that no one else would hear. "Just before Mulder left, he said something about wanting to talk to me in absolute privacy. I could tell he wanted to mention it many times, but he knew how much me and Vera needed to be with each other, so he refrained from saying anything. He was dead serious when he mentioned it, so I know it's an equally deadly serious matter." "Can you be a little more specific? What did he say exactly?" She asked, dropping her voice. "He said 'there's something I need to talk to you about, but not when she needs you this much, and not when you can't be absolutely alone. I'll call you, but right now just focus on watching over Vera. I wouldn't have pulled a stunt like this if I didn't know how much she needs you. All right?' And he was gone." "Okay." Scully answered, disappointed that nothing much came out. "So it's something very important and he didn't want Vera to know. Mulder didn't want to scare her. What...? Hmmm...." Scully was a hard thinker, and Jake waited as she tried to search out the answers in her mind. Then she realized the precise reason why Jake was dealing with the current situation so well. Too well for someone in his state. "Oh, God. Mulder." She wondered out loud. "Jake. Did Mulder tell you about the test results on Vera?" Scully tested the waters. Jake's expression darkened instantly. "What's wrong with her?" The cold hardness returned in Jake's gentle eyes. The transformation was remarkable. Scully sighed inaudibly, and wondered what her news would do to this man. Jake's voice held its intensity. She finally shifted in her seat, warning shooting out saying 'brace yourself'. Jake swallowed hard, but gestured her to continue. "I'm a medical doctor, and I'm your friend as well as a temporary partner. So I won't disrespect you by lying to you. I've checked her records, and found that her mother had a cancer gene that was passed on to Vera. But in her medical records it wasn't the nasal pharyngeal mass her daughter was showing in the initial exam. I don't know just what kind of cancer Mrs. Jarvis had, but it was modified. While she was taken." This was it. Jake's head snapped up in alert, making him stand upright. "What do you mean?" Jake went into the restroom and closed the door behind him so Vera wouldn't be awakened by whatever the reaction this news would bring to him. "I mean, when she was abducted for the second time, she was experimented on physically, just like any other abductee we've investigated. On Vera's first abduction, Mulder had a theory that she had been spared from the stereotypical experiments the abductees report on. Because of her genius, her mind were exploited in that two-year period. But this time, they took her with a clear intent to kill." Jake's face instantly grew snow-white, and his legs suddenly went numb. But then he kept the erect posture, only his eyes darting everywhere looking for something to focus on. "Jake. It's inoperable, incurable except maybe by the serum, and it's very hard to treat Vera because of her tumor's placement and its type. It is mine and Mulder's belief that since Vera had a cancer gene, they've found a way to modify it. To speed up its rate so she wouldn't survive it. There's a high concentration of radiation in her system from the physical examination, and that probably contributed to the problem. Other abductees showed up with blistering on their exposed skin. Her branched DNA was to stop us from ever successfully treating Vera with the serum. We can't treat her with it if her DNA itself is a biological poison. With this tumor, statistically there's zero chance of survival. It's a matter of fact. The absolute truth." "Excuse me, I'm getting sick." Jake muttered, uncertain. "Jake? Are you all right? Do you want me to stop?" A sudden attack of spasms set warning bells in his head, but he knew it was better to hear it all at once. He told her to continue. "When I was returned, I had the branched DNA. They partially changed my DNA structure so my own body became my enemy. They put an implant in my neck which recorded my brain waves and neurochemical signals sent from my brain to the rest of the body. With those information, they could know my every thought. That was exactly what we found on Vera. Except when I was taken, it was three years ago and the technology was too premature to spare me the coma. Vera had the same branched DNA, but they spared her the additional consequences it brought me home with. Mulder found out from his outside sources to treat the branched DNA with the series of antibiotics injections you learned about." "Yeah, I knew something was wrong with her DNA and the antibiotics and all. But what does that have to do with the inherited cancer gene?" Upon learning the essence of the illness, his head quickly filled with questions need answered. "When they took her the for second time, they learned that their DNA experiments, whatever that were, finished. But they knew exactly what Vera was capable of, and made sure she wouldn't make it out of it alive. They took a precaution, and repressed or erased a part of her memory. But their main plan was to modify Vera's existing cancerous gene into something deadlier. No one knows how they did it." "Just why didn't you fucking tell me this when you first found out?!" Jake's tight fists shook slightly, and Scully noted the white knuckles. She stood her ground, her eyes filled with guilt. "We've been withholding these information from you, because we needed to have you at your best. We couldn't trust your ability to keep a straight face like when you did the hostage negotiations. Mulder's emotional, but never as much as you." This summoned Jake another fit of nausea. 'Another stupidity factor for volunteering to play Mulder', Jake thought. But there was a lot of truth in her statement. Everyone was counting on Mulder and his sharp intellect. He had thrown his best and only barely managed to keep up. "I know Skinner's in it. Tell me the truth, Dana. Before I personally kick his ass and yank his balls off with my bear hands." Jake spilled it out before he could stop it. He slapped himself in his face. 'A shock of pain would do you some good, stupid.' "Jake, calm down. Please. What about Skinner?" "It's something I've been investigating. Skinner's hiding something, but I'll tell you more when I know for certain. Sorry, Dana. Please go on. I promise I won't bite." Jake took her sigh for distress. "Okay. Shaw, me, and Dr. Claiborne were trying to develop the serum based on the information Clive Shaw had in his safety deposit box, plus what Mulder retrieved out of Bionix before it was destroyed. It was for Vera as well as Clive Shaw and the millions of abducted women." "How long does Vera have? I need to know." It took all of Jake's self- control to keep his voice neutral. "No one knows for sure. But at current rate, no more than two, three months. Trials take time. Sometimes years before the case is even presented in the open court. We can take depositions, but since she can't write, speak, read nor sign her words, it's a joke to even try to present her as an witness. Not until she either learns or remembers how to communicate." Suddenly, Skinner's earlier remarks returned to Jake's psyche. "Dana? Skinner said something about regression hypno therapy. Why can't we try that? He said you wouldn't risk another panic attack, but it's worth a try and honestly, we've got nothing to lose. I don't have to have her leave here without telling her story. People need to know this. I need this." "Jake? She's dying. I don't want to have to put her through it. She deserves some peace and quiet." Jake thought he detected a slight faltering in her tone. He knew how hard it was for her to see such a young girl going through what she would surely be experiencing in near future. "Dana, I want that for Vera more than anything. The question is, what does she want to do? I know she's a tough kid. And I know she would want to do everything she can to help us. That maybe what she was trying to do all along from the drawings. It's a matter of finding a way in." "Jake? You sound frighteningly like Mulder." Scully's voice grew considerably stronger. "Let me ask her. Skinner said he already told her some things about her past. About her parents. Vera was crying when I caught them = talking to each other. I don't know what was said, but it takes a whole lot more to make her cry than to make me cry. It had to be something devastating." "Do you think she can handle it?" "Yes. But I'll still ask for her consent." "Would you be able to handle it?" This was a question Jake had no answer for, and he told her so. But he needed to do this. Scully agreed and told him to talk to Vera while she called Skinner. Jake stopped her and asked her to let him do it. "All right. But don't kill Skinner. He has a wife." Scully said as a friendly warning. Jake chuckled at the statement, but didn't make any promises to her. He already had the truth from Vera. And, unlike anybody else, she wouldn't lie. He couldn't believe Scully would conceal such vital information from him. But then, he wasn't even a legitimate legal guardian yet. He was merely Mulder's double. He didn't have any FBI training nor the Oxford psychology degree. Jake stayed in the staff room for as long as it took to calm down before walking into Vera's room. She put down her sketchbook and reached for him the moment she recognized his carefully-masked distress. He took a deep breath and gave her a kiss on her forehead, thinking about the evil tumor growing in there. He wanted to drop down to his knees and start wailing like he did before. But he couldn't lose it. Not before he asked her the question. So he distanced himself instead and stood beside the bed. "Vera? I have to ask you an important question. I need your opinion because it has to do with your medical condition. I don't know if you remember, but when we were living together, you played with my computer equipment and saw your drawings saved into it. Something in there really scared you and you were in a hospital while I watched over you. That was just before the bad guys took you away from me and beat me up. Do you remember what scared you so badly?" Jake desperately held back the tears that kept threatening to come back. He watched in horror when Vera picked up the sketchbook sitting on her lap, and held it up to him. It was the one she'd done of her parents lying side by side, in a pool of blood. His tears finally broke through the final barrier, and he pinched on the bridge of his nose. "Vera? I feel terrible about this, but you are the only one who can tell us what went wrong. How it all started. But to do that, you need to remember how you used to speak, write, and read. You have it all inside you. You just couldn't remember, because you were forced to forget. And because your mind was trying to protect you from seeing these horrible images. But I see now that you're not hiding your memories. I believe you were trying to remember, and to tell us the answers we are all looking for. Am I right? Be honest, my sunshine. I need you to be sure." Vera was nodding before he finished the statement. And kept nodding until Jake dropped his shoulders and leaned in for another kiss, this time on her cheek. "Okay, Vera. To help you remember, we need to put you under hypnosis, so you can open up the parts of your mind that normally wouldn't open. It will make you remember things that you didn't before. I want you to do this to remember how you were before your parents died. Before the bad guys and the aliens took you away. You can stop it any time you want. Just give us a sign and the hypnotist will stop." Vera gave him another nod when he paused. Jake took another deep breath. "I will be there to watch over the process, but I'm afraid I can't hold you or sit next to you. But I'll be close enough so that I can see you. Dana will also be there, and maybe Mulder." Jake never mentioned Skinner. His name had a lot of blood, dried or fresh, smeared over it. Vera nodded again, but kept gazing at him. He knew she was scanning his mind again, and he knew better than to table the issue. "Vera? Do you still trust him?" The 'him' didn't need to be spelled out. She nodded. Jake's eyebrows rose. "Are you sure? Because I can't any more. But, you have an ability to know what's in people's hearts. You know what I'm thinking. I'm angry at the man for what he's done to Mulder. To all of us. What makes you still want to trust him?" It wasn't really a question. Vera began drawing something on the sketchbook. He recognized it as a gesture to stay because she needed to tell him something. Much like how Stella did with her wagging tail before she tried to explain something needed to be said. It wasn't shocking to see her drawing something that looked like a large gun, and a tree that had unusually large leaves. It looked 'like a ...coconut tree?' Then she drew a human figure standing and shedding tears. She then added a small hole on it, and added a curving line that was unmistakably blood. A tropical plant, a gun, a man shedding tears and blood. It could only mean one thing in Walter Sergei Skinner's life. "Vietnam War?" Jake asked, his hands now resting on his waist. She nodded. Then she began drawing something else. He waited patiently. It was like a trivia, or the drawing game he played in junior high. She drew a figure on a bed, something like a tube coming out of the mouth. Jake watched with interest as she began coloring the figure's head with orange, and realized that was the hair. Of a woman. "His wife?" He asked, but got a no. There was only one alternative. "Dana Scully?" A nod. Jake nodded back, and wondered what the tube was for. After she added a couple of figures wearing masks, he decided it was the hospital and Scully had an incubator breathing for her. She was in a coma, after all. Just when he thought about exiting the room to meet up with Skinner, she picked it up again. This time, she drew three human figures holding small guns aiming at each other. A three-way stand off. Jake's blood ran cold. It ran even colder when she began adding hair on one of them with orange. He was deathly-pale by the time she added a pair of round eye glasses in another one. This was Skinner, in the center of a three-way stand off with Scully and somebody else who he assumed to be Mulder. Vera watched Jake for a long moment before closing the sketchbook. Her sign for a closure. He nodded an okay before exiting the room. Jake asked the guards at the door to keep watch for Vera because he needed to step out for a while. When Jake called on Skinner's cellular, the man was at the roof, catching a little fresh air. 'Considering Skinner was Cancer Man's puppet, this irony can't get any bitter', Jake thought. He told Skinner to stay there, because they needed to talk. When Skinner complained about his schedules, Jake told him Scully and he decided to give regression hypnosis a go as soon as Vera consented, which she just did. Skinner began barking, but Jake hanged up on the man. It didn't matter why or how the man gained Vera's trust. If what she told him was true, then Skinner might be ready to bury them all in the sand. But before doing anything more, Jake needed to clear up the issue of distrust. He flew up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. The exertion did some good to calm him down. When he yanked the metal door open, Skinner was leaning forward onto the security fence, apparently deep in thought. "You cut the deal yourself, didn't you?" Jake's voice made Skinner's body do a sharp 180 degree turn. Jake stood, his head shaking, but never looking away. "What?" Skinner's portrayal of confusion was perfect. Jake kept shaking his head with disgust. "You ordered the surgery on Mulder. You are the one responsible for his memory loss." Jake's every word weighed a ton, dragging the suddenly stale air down with it. Jake took one very slow and sure step after another like a predator stalking its prey before pouncing for the final kill. Skinner looked away, but felt Jake's eyes like a pair of daggers pinning him down. "You wanted to play the perfect knight in shining armor when your soul was already sold to the devil." Jake took a few more steps. Skinner stood rigid on the spot. Jake could almost smell the blood that smeared the man inside out. "I hope you know just what you've done. Mulder's put everything he's got into this case, and all you do is deny him access to his accomplishments. No wonder Mulder feels so small, although he's one of the most honorable, respectable men I've ever come to know. You're one of those shadowy gophers for Consortium. Using Mulder, Dana, and whoever else gave their lives for the sake of the truth. You are destroying Mulder's reputation, his confidence, his pride, his whole life. I can't believe I've even thought you would be the right person to take care of Vera in case I don't make it out of this alive. You were the cleaver chess player who got caught cheating. Cancer Man's secret weapon and a precious puppet. How dare you call yourself a man?" There was only a few feet of distance left between the two angry men. Jake expected Skinner to throw him a hard punch or two by now, and he couldn't care less. But instead, Skinner stood still. Only his hands moved, forming bone-white fists. Jake moved for the kill. "I'll ask you again." Dropping his voice lower, his expression turned to a smirk. "Did you make a deal besides the one we've made to authorize the surgery on Mulder?" "Look! Kathler, it's easy for you to say! You have no idea... No idea! What we deal with on daily basis!" Skinner fired his words like M-16 bullets. Jake didn't flinch, because he expected much worse. He leaned further forward until their noses almost touched. Then make me understand! What's worth eliminating his memory of ever meeting Vera? Of saving Elly's life? What about Stella? She's taken a flying bullet for the man and he can't even remember. Oh, let's not leave out the two weeks of personal hell he put himself through in Sacramento for Sarah Martin, so he would be ready to help Vera through the mess! I've been beaten up and thrown into a trash chute mistaken for him, while you looked the other way!" Jake was screaming, and for once there was no one to stop him. "I wasn't responsible for that! Agents Mulder and Scully are the only hope we have to expose the truth for the public to see. They are justice's the most powerful weapon against Consortium. And If the blackening of my name, my reputation, and my dignity are the price to pay in order to save their lives, I'm glad to pay them, and I have paid them. More times than I care to count. You haven't seen enough to sing a pretty crap to me, Kathler. You don't know shit." Skinner jerked his jaw, bearing his teeth for effect. Jake kept glaring at the older man, letting his boiling rage out in the open. "Oh, I think I know enough. You're just too blind to what really matters. You've been in it for way too long, you forgot how everything looks from the outside. A mountain looks a whole lot different from a few hundred miles away. The trick is not to get lost while you actually climb it." Jake wiped his smirk clean, and now his dilated eyes held a grimmer fit for a moonless night. "You wanted the case to be thrown out of court. I was wondering why you let me play Mulder this long and now I know why. You didn't want them finding out you screwed up and didn't want to be the one to get smoked. I bet you wet your pants when you discovered Mulder and I switched places. Mulder had the insight of something like this happening. He visited you right before he was snatched and my car got bombed. How convenient is that for you? What, did you call the Morley man and told him Mulder was sniffing his cigarette smoke?" "Mr. Kathler, we live in the world where nothing is what it seems. Where night is day and day is night. Where criminal and the lawful trade places from time to time. Where the truth and justice are sold to the highest bidder. Where there's no true good or evil, because sometimes you have to soil your hands in order to serve for the greater good! We all walk on the grey line and swim with the sharks just to survive the game. In our world, sins are committed for righteous causes. And I don't expect you to understand just how tough it is to keep our sanity without losing ourselves! I did what I had to do in order to save Mulder's life!" Jake watched as Skinner's expression held a deep old pain that was honest yet unidentifiable. Jake finally dropped his shoulders, seeing that Skinner was truly feeling guilty. But his disgust for the man was never replaced by sympathy nor by understanding. He shook his head again. "You're probably right on that. But that doesn't change what you've done to Mulder. Is there any way you can take his memory back? By another surgery?" "No, there isn't." Skinner spat out his words in Jake's face. Jake only nodded slightly. "Then find a way. Get Mulder his memory back, and I might forgive you." "I can't do that, Mr. Kathler. And I'm in no need for your forgiveness." "Are you going to tell Scully and Mulder about this? To Mulder's recovering mother? To Scully's mother who made a panic call to save her own daughter from hundreds of miles away while you may be the one who sent the terrorists on their way? To Vera, whose chance of living a normal life vanished? To those innocent souls in Sacramento Mulder worked with?" Jake's stashed hand appeared from Mulder's trousers pocket, snapping open the holster and removing the safety of the Sig Sauer. Skinner noticed Jake's eyes stayed fixed on his. Jake rested the hand on his waist and gestured Skinner with the other hand to step out of the roof and toward the stairs. "What do you think you're doing?" Skinner asked wearily. "Pull out your cellular phone. Dial Dana, so you can tell her and her devoted partner personally about what you've done and why. You owe them at least that much." Jake's hand motioning Skinner to comply. "What makes you think I would actually follow your orders?!" Skinner stashed his hands in his trousers pockets. Jake pulled out Mulder's gun and aimed it at Skinner's groin. "You don't have a choice." Jake said, but didn't exactly expect Skinner to comply. "You've never even handled a gun before, Kathler. I suggest you put that thing down, because I can legally blow your brains out." Skinner said, but moved to follow Jake's demand. Jake shrugged as if it was to be expected. After all, this man was capable of pulling a gun to his two best agents. "Fine. But tell Agents Scully and Mulder everything. They're entitled to the truth." Jake watched Skinner press his cell phone to his ear. "Scully." The voice was so smooth. So neutral. Skinner closed his eyes. "It's Skinner." His voice came out an octave higher than normal, and he hastily corrected it. "Sir? What's wrong?" Quick to detect a trouble, her voice dropped a few notches. "Agent Scully, is Mulder with you?" 'This should tell her he had enough privacy', he thought. "Yes, sir. I'm still at his ICU. He's awake, and he's with me. What can I...?" Skinner wiped his forehead, trying to start the explanation. "Agent Scully, I need to tell you something. But first of all, Miss Jarvis gave Kathler her consent for the regression hypnosis session. I know you two have been discussing about this. If that's what it takes and everybody's in agreement, you have my support. But you're on your own with this. I'll look the other way, but not for long." "Yes, sir. I..." Scully was obviously in shock that Skinner would agree to go that far. "It's decided for a go, Agent Scully. Leave it at that before I change my mind." "Thank you, sir." She was quick to respond. Skinner took a deep breath before going on. Jake was still standing close by, aiming the gun at him. But Skinner knew that Jake knew he was once a trained marine officer. "There's something else." Skinner's free hand curled up into a fist. Jake watched Skinner's every move like a hawk. "Yes, sir?" Scully's tone was neutral but insistent. "When Mulder was taken, Cancer Man offered me a deal. It was a deal separate from the one Kathler and you were cooking up. He told me what he was doing to Mulder. About the pain he'll be in before he's finally killed. They were really going to finish him off, because they didn't know who they had. Jake Kathler was a stranger to Cancer Man. He was going to make the whole thing cleaned and changed into a signature hit of a serial killer, or a victim of an accidental gas explosion. The buildings were old, and he could easily blow them up. They were also bars. There won't be anything to recover once the explosion hits the alcohol stored in there." "Oh, my God. ...Wait. What are you saying? You cut the deal with Cancer Man? Alone?!" Her voice rose with anger once she figured out the reasons behind his call. He took another deep breath before dropping his gaze onto the white concrete beneath him. "Yes, Agent Scully. I did. The condition of the deal was the surgery. To eliminate Jake Kathler's memory from the time he met Vera Jarvis, to the point when he was operated on. They didn't know they had Mulder." "Wha...?!" Scully began, but he cut her off. "Let me finish! Cancer Man was going to let me have the game once we made a deal. So I did. But I didn't expect the showdown to go to such extent as to directly negotiate the deal Kathler made. The whole thing got out of control when the terrorists separated from Cancer Man and followed Kathler's lead. Mulder, as I speculate it, knew that Kathler was going to be attacked no matter what. I believe Mulder tried to divert the attention from Kathler and Vera by making himself a decoy. Of course he won't remember any of it, so we'll never know if it was a freak coincidence." "Why are you telling me this now?!" She yelled into the phone, and Skinner quickly distanced the phone from his ear. But then, he wasn't going to let the opportunity to tell her his situation disappear. "Because Jake Kathler himself is standing in front of me with Mulder's Sig Sauer pointed at my balls and threatened me to call you." Skinner glared at Jake, who holstered back the gun the moment he got his wish, and now was shrugging as if to say, 'So what?' "Sir, are you expecting me to trust you're telling me the truth?..." Her voice sounded as if it was ground out of her raw anger. "Agent Scully..." Skinner moved to explain himself, but she paid him no heed. "Don't bother doing the rest of your confession speech over the phone. I'll hear it all in Mulder's room. Personally." Her tone honestly chilled Skinner as he tried to keep her on the line, but she was gone. Jake watched as Skinner stashed his phone back into his coat pocket. "What did you tell Vera?" Jake asked, still not giving up. "What are you talking about? I told you it was about her past." Still annoyed out of his mind, Skinner faced Jake once again. "Bullshit. There was something else you told her that made her cry. I've asked her about it. About her parents' murder. She was able to tell me about the incident without losing her composure. She even drew the scenes in detail for me. Don't you lie to me again, Assistant Director Skinner." "All right. I told her what are to come. About what was keeping her in the hospital while she hates it flat-out and manages to not show it. I've read Mulder's therapy reports, and I've learned from his session tapes to be honest with patients, especially when they are kids." "What?! No wonder you scared shit out of her! What makes you think you have the right...?!" "Calm down, Kathler. I never underestimated her intelligence. Her strengths. The depth of her understanding, and her ability to reason. I knew she could handle it, and she did. I knew it was a horrible thing for her to hear. But she needed to hear it eventually, or else she'll be even more afraid not knowing just what was eating her alive. She needed to face it." "I never read Mulder's Martin therapy reports. I need to have them ASAP. I understand Vera enough, but not the way Mulder does ...did. I know why you've been shutting me out of the door. But, I need access to them. I need all the help I can get." Jake kept his gaze on Skinner, willing him to turn to face him. "All right, I'll see what I can do." Skinner looked out into the city. Air was much cleaner out here compared to Oakland. And definitely cleaner than the Nation's Capitol. Jake nodded a thanks. "I pulled the gun on you, because I know what you're capable of." He moved in for another round of the sparring match. "I don't know what you mean." Skinner's voice was carefully neutral. "I meant about the time you had a three-way stand-off. With you, Mulder, and Dana. Each one of you were pointing a gun at each other, although it looked like you were aiming at Dana while they both aimed at you." It was Skinner's turn to go pale. "How did you...?" "Vera. Remember, she can mind-scan. She saw it when you went bearing your soul to her. Twice. Once you were thinking about Vietnam War. About someone or yourself shot and bleeding to death in a jungle. Then you were thinking about Dana in a hospital, surrounded by doctors and nurses, breathing through an oxygen mask." "How did she...?" "She drew them for me to see, because I asked her if she still trusted you after all the wrong you've done. She answered yes. I asked her how it was possible, because it was impossible for me at that point. That's when she drew the images for me. She believes you're a good man. And I know deep down that you are, too. I just don't want to believe it right now, because I'm angry. When I told her you were hiding something from me and possibly others, Scully told me not to kill you because you have a wife." Jake shrugged. Skinner stood open- mouthed. "I haven't a clue just what made you pull your gun to your best agents. I can only guess you did something else that was bad to them and they were scared. I know those two would never pull a gun on you unless they thought it as an absolute necessity." "It was a tape." Skinner's voice sounded as if it had been pushed out of a clogged drain. "A tape?" Jake raised his eyebrows. Gee, thanks Skinner, that really narrows it down. "A micro digital cassette containing a list of test subjects' names. Agent Scully's name was among them. I had it with me and was going to give it to Scully. Mulder was missing and presumed dead. Scully had her gun pointed at me, because she was warned by someone from Consortium that her assassination was ordered. She thought I'd be the one." "Why am I not surprised?" Jake said, shaking his head. Skinner swallowed the stinging words. "It was a false information. I told her to take us to somewhere we could talk. She chose Mulder's apartment. She pulled her gun on me the moment we walked inside. They told her it would be someone she trusted. I showed her the disk I was going to give her. We were aiming guns and shouting at each other, firing accusations. Mulder heard it from outside, so he burst inside with his own gun drawn. That's when he ordered me to give the tape to Scully. Much the same manner you've been doing." Skinner aimed his glance at the hip holster on Jake. Jake shrugged again. "I knew you'd be capable of killing me if you wanted to. But I've learned from the best that I needed to get on people's nerves in order to reach them. And once I reached them, they'll feel a whole lot better that someone else's sharing their burden." Jake remembered the way he shouted his brains out to Vera for scaring the hell out of him, and she gave him her trust. Mulder opened up to him when he hit his nerves. 'Mr. FBI', Jake teased him, and that did the trick. It seemed to work on Skinner, too. Only he had to risk his life for it. It was a gamble. "Don't get killed over it next time." Skinner said, and saw Jake smiled briefly, nodding his understanding. 'Yes,' Jake thought. 'It was the right thing to do'. "I'll be at Prescott." Skinner muttered as he briskly walked away. "Sure. Don't get killed over it yourself." Jake joked, and watched as Skinner gave him a dismissing wave without turning around. Jake stayed where he was a while before returning to Vera. Prescott Hospital Mulder's ICU Room Oakland, CA 6:30 AM Next Day The previous night while Skinner's phone call came, Mulder was listening to the taped hostage negotiation where Jake took charge. Mulder could only regard Jake's intentions as brilliant, noble, and reckless. But when he told her, "So are you, Mulder." was her only answer. The other thing he caught was the time he called Scully by her first name. He knew it was Jake Kathler's preference in addressing her, but if he had been tortured for indeterminable length of time with electric shocks, he wouldn't think about his temporary identity, much less how Jake Kathler addressed his partner. It sounded as if he was really on the barge of sanity. And he was forever incapable of learning if it was an act or for real. He inclined for the latter. "Scully, all I know is if I was calling you Dana, it's because I needed you. And I sounded like I was dying." Mulder winced at the memory of hearing his own horrific screams. Jake Kathler's transfer order came through as soon as Skinner asked for it. When Scully mentioned about Jake's idea of getting Stella to come with them, pressing that it would certainly help Vera get comfortable and recover faster, Skinner groaned and ordered two agents to drive Stella out to Fairfield Central. It was evident from the previous night's confrontation that Mulder's presence was necessary for the regression hypnosis session of Vera Jarvis. Mulder insisted Skinner his need to be able to finally meet the girl, and to witness the session. He insisted that would enable him to make notes on the sessions and compare with the notes from Sarah Martin case. Scully was surprised to learn Jake really pulled Mulder's gun on Skinner to make the man confess. And it made Mulder's jaw literally drop before he screamed from the pain. But what amazed Scully the most, was when Mulder readily forgave Skinner. They both knew how dangerous and how serious Cancer Man had to be to take such extent measure of action. "Who's this gun-ho, Jake Kathler?" Mulder wrote on his notepad. "Your perfect double." Scully joked, reaching to tousle Mulder's hair. Scully knew by the way Cancer Man offered the deal that Skinner really had no choice. But she was still infuriated about his keeping the secret during their rescue operation gone awry. Jake could have died out there in the nest of cobras. But all went easier once Skinner agreed to take Mulder to Fairfield Central for convenience. Skinner didn't want to risk having someone shooting down the chopper, but Mulder insisted on going, or else put the sessions on hold until he recovered. As a compromise, this time Skinner let Mulder have his way. Though Scully hated to see Mulder in constant pain and sickness, she saw a dramatic improvement in him because of that. He responded much quicker, his thought process much more complex, and he even got his sense of humor back. Now, he was more Fox Mulder the partner, than Fox Mulder the patient. Though his coughing, sneezing, and runny nose couldn't be helped, his fever and nausea were gone almost completely. He still uncharacteristically followed doctors' orders to the letter, the attitude telling Scully and Skinner how important it was for him to get better. Upon their arrival, the three agents gathered in the meeting room and discussed their plans with the fellow agents. Mulder was immediately sent into his assigned room, and didn't even get a chance to meet Vera, or real Jake Kathler. He complained, but no one was taking chances. The rest of the team only knew him as Jake Kathler, the federal witness. They would call him when the session starts, Skinner said as he closed the door to Mulder's assigned room in the floor directly above the Pediatrics ICU ward. The hospital was about half the size of Prescott, but Mulder liked it immediately. People smiled more, and their attitude was contagious to the fellow agents. Fairfield Central Pediatric ICU Vera's Room Fairfield, CA 8: 15 AM Same Day Scully knocked on the door before entering, noting that Jake was lying down on his side over the bed beside a sleeping Vera. When she entered Jake didn't seem to take notice. She approached the bed quietly, and smiled at the peaceful sight that greeted her. Vera's head rested on Jake's outstretched arm, her body guarded securely by his other long, strong arm. She noted Jake shunned Mulder's jacket and shoes to stretch out on the bed, more for the sleeping girl than for his comfort. Vera was claiming Jake's flat, long torso to cuddle against, her hands clutching at Jake's draped arm while her head was pressed firmly against his chest. 'Listening for his heartbeat', Scully noted. She placed the tapes and report files from the Martin sessions on the nightstand next to the flower vase. She wasn't too surprised Jake would request them, but she was surprised that Skinner let Jake look at them. Just when she was about to leave them, Jake's eyes fluttered open, his index finger pressed against his lips. Scully observed them for a bit longer, noting Jake was very much alert, and only looked asleep. Scully briefed him about Mulder's relocation, and about the impending arrival of a hypnotist. Jake nodded a thanks and watched as Scully exited the room. Jake gently caressed Vera's long hair and dropped his head back onto the pillows. Skinner informed Scully of the hypnotist's impending arrival within twenty minutes, telling her to get Mulder loaded into a wheelchair and bring him down to the meeting room. But when she arrived in Mulder's room ten minutes later, he was already off of the bed, trying to get dressed in his own business suit, so he at least looked like himself. Scully saw he hadn't succeeded. "Mulder, I told you to stay still. It's hurting you, because you're practically off of your pain killers. Broken ribs alone are enough." She said as she threw him a charcoal grey suit. Mulder's eyebrows rose, and he grabbed the ever-present notepad. "When'd you get these? I don't remember buying these." Mulder said, inspecting the designer label and raising his eyebrows. "Out of Jake's collection. You have a suitcase full of clothes, but needless to say, Jake's been making a good use out of them." Mulder threw his head back, his eyes narrowing in dismay. "What?! I don't want a stranger wearing my clothes!" "Mulder, Jake's playing you. Don't worry, he's sending everything he wore to the dry-cleaners. Don't complain. Let me help, and let's go." Scully said as she threw Jake's pale green silk dress shirt over his bare shoulders, and helped getting his arms into the sleeve holes. Mulder groaned, but did his best to kill off the screams. Scully took care of his socks and shoes while he buttoned the shirt, and helped pulling on the trousers while he worked on knotting the tie she picked out of Jake's tasteful collection. She waited long enough for Mulder to zip up the trousers before helping him wear the jacket. Scully noticed he lost some weight, and the trousers were loose-fit. She worked on getting his hair into Jake's preferred style while he strapped the belt on. It was a beautiful team work, but it still took them ten minutes. Looking from a short distance, Mulder did look like Jake Kathler. She nodded with satisfaction, and handed him a hand mirror. Mulder widened his eyes at the sight. "So, this is the guy who makes a living designing and building skyscrapers, converts a loft into a house, rescues a ten-year old girl off the top of his skyscraper in a stormy night, wears top import designer suits, takes a daily walk with a large spotted dog, reads women's letters, and drives a white BMW?" Mulder wrote, and heard Scully laugh softly the way her mother often did. "Yeah, pretty much. And he doesn't move as fluidly as you do, which helps, since you're in this condition." She looked at the time, glad that Mulder shaved during their chopper ride. Scully knew by now how much Mulder hated wheelchairs. However, this time he never complained and apologized for needing her mothering. "Doesn't matter, Mulder. I know you'll do the same for me." "I would walk through fire for you." Mulder wrote as Scully opened the door, and saw her smile when she read the words. 'Yes!' Scully thought triumphantly. 'Fox Mulder is back'. Fairfield Central Hospital Executive Conference Room 10 Minutes Later The room was located on the top floor, chosen partly because of its sound-proof walls and the non sound-proof inner door that divided the room in half. As Mulder suggested, the inner room was installed with a couch and a reclining chair. Recording devises were placed at the bottom of the coffee table set in between them. It reminded Scully so much of the office of the hypnotist Melissa forced her to see. She swallowed hard at the memory of running out of the doctor's office that first time. Mulder looked up at her wavering gaze, and reached up to squeeze her hand. He didn't need to write a word. "I'm okay, Mulder. I'm fine. Sorry, just a flash back." Scully muttered in a near whisper. When he kept his gaze on her, she attempted to convince him further. Mulder pursed his lips, and placed his hand on her forearm before letting it slide back to his lap. It was his idea to observe the session from the outer room through the video monitor screen because of his flu. If he kept interrupting the session with his constant runny nose and sneezing, they won't get anywhere. He had a cup of herbal tea and a fresh box of Kleenex on the table beside him. He soon shook hand with the tall, balding hypnotist in his late forties and introduced each other. Jake followed directly behind Skinner into the room with Vera attached to his shoulders and chest. Jake was fully warned of what Mulder's reaction might be, and eyed Scully as if to ask whether everything was all right. Scully nodded a yes. Mulder was deep in thought, staring into the camera monitor in front of him when he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. And froze. Jake took the first move as he offered a handshake. "Jake! How're you doing? I hope you're feeling okay now. You look better." When Mulder didn't answer, Jake quickly indicated the entire room focusing on them with his eye movement. 'Do something, damnit!', the man's eyes screamed. Mulder awkwardly shook Jake's hand, wrote down his own thank-you remarks and held it up for him to see. Jake nodded. "And, of course this is Vera. She's been missing you, Jake. Remember before? She wouldn't go anywhere without you. But I know your condition, so I've explained it all to her. She understands you can't hold her or be with her until you're back on your feet." Jake was trying to move things smoothly. Mulder looked at the girl, and wanted very much to hold her. She had a pair of green eyes, large and rather melancholy. He couldn't believe he can't remember meeting her. She had such haunting look that made him feel naked. Mulder nodded, and motioned for them to go through the inner door. Jake nodded, knowing Mulder had the flu and it could infect them. From the main room, Scully observed the scene and breathed easier. 'So far, so good'. Mulder's current condition enabled them to part within minimum time without drawing suspicions. Mulder watched his double and the little girl walk into through the door to the inner room. 'So,' he thought. 'That's how I look like in others' eyes.' He even noted his gun strapped onto the man's waist. Jake Kathler obviously had enough time to observe Fox Mulder. Everything from Jake's hair to accent to the way he walked, though still a little stiff, was so like his own. Soon Scully exited the room, closing the door behind her and marking the start of the session. She sat down next to him, close enough for a private conversation. "They'll be fine. They let Jake stay because they believe he is a trained psychologist. But he's there, because he's still the only one Vera allows to completely open up to. Jake reviewed your therapy reports and the tapes, but he's never seen a regression hypnosis session before. I told him not to get scared, and to take everything as it happens." "You said this guy was pretty much ready for anything. If he's lasted this long in my shoes and managed to stay alive, I don't think there's much to worry about. The guy knows exactly what happened to her parents, right?" Mulder rested his hand, looking into her eyes. She nodded. "Yeah, we had to tell him eventually. The other agents also updated him, because they knew you were the top primary in this case." "We'll observe the best we can from here, but did you tell him not to interrupt the session no matter what? Or not to touch her unless she begins to panic?" "Sure. Skinner and the hypnotist briefed both Jake and Vera. She's an incredibly strong girl, Mulder. She even handled the news on her medical condition. About the cancer. Jake was furious for Skinner to do it behind his back, but Skinner knew Vera will be even more frightened if she didn't know." "That was risky, but it's the right thing to do. Jake's not even a legal guardian, yet. The girl has the right to know." Mulder wrote, and sipped his tea. Then he reached for a Kleenex and blew his nose as quietly as he could. In the monitor, Scully saw the hypnotist began placing her under. Vera's hand and her arm were held up in the air as if they were floating in the air. "Okay, she's under." Mulder wrote it down. Scully released an inaudible sigh. Mulder knew if the girl actually possessed speech skills, she'll start answering the moment she was demanded an answer to a question asked. They could hear the conversations through their headphones including Skinner, who came to sit in the chair opposite them and stared intensely into another monitor. From what they understood, Vera was to be guided through the course of her life from the oldest memory, and slowly move up until the day her parents were murdered and she was taken. The rest needed to wait. Daniel Sims the hypnotist was now guiding Vera through an imaginary stairs and a door. Scully closed her eyes, listening the hypnotist's words directly in her own ears. Why had she ran away? 'Because I was scared, chickenshit.' Scully rubbed the sides of her face, near the temple though not quite able to reach for them. She concentrated on Sims's voice. 'Calm down, Dana. Nothing bad's going to happen. And you won't run out of the room this time. Mulder's here, remember?' Sims's smooth neutral voice was easy to focus, to fall into, and so very comfortable. This is the spell of hypnosis. "Vera Max...ine Jar...vis." A thin, unsteady and unfamiliar voice began echoed in her head, and Scully snapped out of her reverie. Mulder's eyes shone radiantly, and he was glued to the screen. Scully soon followed, and noticed Jake had his hand covering his mouth, most decidedly to keep his reactions minimum. Skinner, who also had the expression of shock and delight, kept his attention on the girl's voice. "Can you move your body? Your eyes?" Sims continued, quite aware of the magnitude of reactions from the man sat behind them and those from the next room. "Y...es." Vera's voice sounded very dry and unsure, as if she spoke for the first time and wasn't used to the sound of her own voice. "And what do you see, Vera? What can you tell me?" "I'm ... I'm on a bed. I can see the airplane hanging from the ceiling." "Where is this, Vera?" "My house. My bedroom." This time, Vera spoke flawlessly. "Okay, what else do you see?" "Window. I can see the trees from my window. It's sunny out, and pretty soon it'll be hot like it was yesterday. I'll be fine, because my Mommy turn on the cooler and it'll be okay." "When is this?" "Tomorrow's my third birthday. I'll be three." This grabbed the attention of every adult in the two rooms. 'Three?' Scully's incredulous expression asked. Mulder nodded and wrote, "It isn't unusual, especially for a girl her age to remember." Scully sank deeper into her chair. "Are your parents with you?" "No, not until two. They come home at two every weekday. Then they go out again at four." "Is there somebody taking care of you?" "A housekeeper's here. It's a big house." "Where is your house?" "Sacramento. My whole life." Scully, Skinner, and Mulder all recognized Vera's voice gaining its stability with her every word. Mulder moved his focus, and wrote something in the notepad and passed it to Scully, who jumped slightly at his touch and stared back at Mulder. "We're at the top of the game, Scully. She's got to come through." Scully nodded slightly, and instead of speaking, kept focusing on Vera and Sims's voice while writing down the response on his notepad. "This is great, but it'll be a problem if the girl doesn't remember to talk outside the hypnotic state. You know they'll strike her down immediately from the witness stand." "I know, we've been through this before." Mulder's emotional rampage mode began kicking in. Though Scully expected this, it was still hard to hold on to a very excited Fox Mulder even in his current condition. "Mulder, get a hold of yourself. We need to be cautious..." "What makes you think I can even make it out of this hospital?!" Mulder jotted down the words angrily even before she finished. Scully shook her head, and pointed to the monitor. 'Focus, Mulder', her eyes ordered. Mulder followed, listening to the voices from the headphones, and finally deciding to close his eyes for awhile and let his mind do its visualization job. They were now moving onto her fifth Christmas, just around the time Jarvis' began making their attempts at getting out of Bionix. Small round lights illuminate the living room walls in various colors. The tree's so tall, it barely touches the ceiling with the star on top. Looking down at its base there lay a pile of gifts, all neatly wrapped with bows and ribbons. The edges of the small greeting cards with the recipient's name are clearly showing. Waiting. Waiting for her. "Just one, Vera. Just one. You can open just one tonight and the rest tomorrow morning, after the Santa comes and drops your favorite one in your sock." "Favorite one?" "Yes, dear. You know that the Santa knows what your favorite is." "If I was a good girl?" "Yes. And you've been a very, very good girl." "I know I was!" Laughter softens the crisp winter air. Then the phone rings. Dad picks it up, and listens to it. His smile vanishes, and he walks out of the room with the receiver. Phone code stretch to its limit when he finally stops. Mom catches up with him but tells me to stay where I am. I don't want to, but I will because it's Christmas. I have to be a good girl if I want the Santa's gift. You see, Vera, it's your favorite. It will be your favorite." Mom promises before joining Dad again at the phone. I hear Dad yelling into the receiver. Mom tells him to be quiet, because they were at home and this is the holiday season. I don't know what the call was about, but I know it was about their work, and it made them very angry. They talk about someone in the hallway after hanging up. Name, name... I can't quite hear. Mommy left for work with Daddy just like yesterday. She wore her favorite white bulky knitted sweater, and got me the same one my size, so we looked like a couple of snowmen. Dad said she had to go to the doctor called an Oncologist she's seen before coming home. The one working at Mom and Dad's research building. Funny name, with so many 'o's. I don't know anyone named like that. I wait for them with a baby-sitter, a high school girl living next door. But I hardly see her, because the 'next door' is about a block away. We're sitting in front of the television and drinking lemonade. The glass gets wet because it's so hot out. I have a cold, and Mommy said the air conditioner isn't good for a sick kid. Daddy come home, and he is sad. Mommy has to stay in the hospital for a night for some tests. Can we go see her, Daddy? Let's go see Mommy. Why not? Please don't look so sad. I'm sorry, Dad. I'm sorry but I don't know how to help Mommy. Will it help if I made our breakfast? Picked up all my toys before dinner? Went to bed earlier? What, Daddy? What can I do? Daddy is still sad, and he's now crying. Mommy's not sick, Daddy said. She may get sick, but not now. It wasn't her that he was worried about. Why are you so sad, then? What are you so worried about? Daddy's words can't get out of his mouth. They're making him quiet. I don't know why, but I don't want to go to school. It's nice and cool outside, but I don't want to go. Please, let me stay home, Mommy. I don't feel sick at all, and no, I didn't do anything to be in trouble. Okay, I'm in one right now. I just want to stay home, all right? No, I swear I'll do all my homework by Wednesday. Just today, please? I'll help baking cookies. I'll even do the dishes. I don't know why, but I know I have to be here today. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be difficult. You know I'm not the type to cut school. I have perfect scores on all my class tests and projects. So why can't I stay home for just one day? I know this is Monday and I had two days to stay home, but you weren't here most of the time. You were at your work again, in your lab with Dr. Scanlon. ...That's his name, isn't it? No, I didn't tell anybody about him. I've never even met him. No, he never called here while you were away. You told me not to answer phones, and if I wanted to talk to somebody I have to call them myself. Dad, I'm seven years old. I can remember names, you know. Glass is breaking. That's the sound, I know because I broke a glass a while back when I poured milk. I get out of my bed, put on my bunny slippers. A loud bursting noise, like someone hitting a wall really, really hard. Like the Road Runner cartoons, when the poor coyote falls off a cliff for the hundredth time. Lots of pounding noise, and more glass breaking. Are they the picture frames shattering in the living room? Mommy and Daddy are screaming, telling me to get out of the house. I'm already running, out from my window. I still hear them screaming, saying whoever they are, please don't hurt the child. I try to jump out, but someone grabbed me from underneath the roof. I scream, I'm scared. Who are these men in black suits? They are so rough and strong. I see a girl being carried inside the house. I don't know who she is, I've never met her before. I hear Mommy calling my name, telling me to run. But the man who grabbed me is holding me, climbing down the ladder, and bringing me inside the house from the kitchen door. I don't know why they came. I can only hear Mommy calling out Daddy's name. I haven't heard Daddy scream or call my name. I'm so scared, I'm shaking. Why are you doing this?? Why? Something is burning. What is it? I've smelled it before, I just can't remember...Cigarettes. I know because my uncle smoked them when he visited us last Thanksgiving. I hated the smell, and so did Daddy and Mommy. They make carpets messy. But it doesn't matter now. The floor's already covered with shattered glass and lots of stuff that fell off the walls or tables. The man carrying me takes me through the kitchen to the living room. The room's crowded with a bunch of men in the same black clothes. Five, six ...no, more than that. I don't know, they're moving too fast. From upstairs, I hear more things breaking and falling. Why are you doing this? Why are you hurting me? They don't tell me anything. One of the men In the living room shouted at us. He doesn't want me in there, in the living room. Why? It's my home. I can do anything I want if I don't get into a trouble. Someone else from the back yard asked for help, and the man's arm holding me loosened. I slid out, and landed on the floor. I ran. I ran to my Mommy and Daddy. The broken glass from the dinner glasses and dishes hurt my feet. They hurt me bad, but I keep going. I don't know. I can't breath. No, the bad guys can't catch me because I'm too small and too quick. I know where Mommy and Daddy are. I've seen them lying down on the floor, moving. I can see their feet, but not the rest of them. Two men are sitting on them, and they both have a knife. What are you doing? Don't hurt Mommy and Daddy! No, they can't be hurting. Because if they are, they'll tell me. They're not saying anything. There's the little girl I saw them carry inside, but her head's smoking. I can hear weird bubbling sound from the smoke. There's a man pouring something like water over her face. Someone picks me up off of the floor again, and takes me away. But when he holds me, he's tall and I can see better. Mommy isn't moving, and neither is Daddy. I don't know, just a little more and I can see... AH...! AHHHHHH!!! NOOOOOOOO!!! "Stop!! Stop!! Enough!" Jake and Skinner shouted simultaneously, nearly throwing Mulder off of his wheelchair and Scully from her seat. Mulder grimaced with pain and grunted at his failed attempt to walk. Scully jumped into the room after Skinner, Vera still screaming. Jake immediately scooped her up and crashed her against his chest. Vera's screams ceased to a series of violent sobs the moment Jake picked her up. His eyes were already swollen from tears shed, but now they held even deeper shades of red. He kept his voice constant and deliberately low as he held her and slowly sat down in her seat. "Mr. Sims, is she still under?!" Skinner asked Sims, handing Jake a box of Kleenex, but Jake's face stayed buried in Vera's shoulder. "No. I think she's out of it." Sims said, carefully approaching them and touching Vera's hair. She was shaking badly, that it made Jake's entire upper body shake with the force and made his skin crawl. Jake pressed his face tighter against hers, and felt her exertion, a burst of her pain, grief, and fear. "Vera? Baby, come back to me. You're okay, we're all okay. It's over for now." Jake did his best to keep his voice audible, but he was anything but okay. Skinner helplessly remained standing on the spot, and began cleaning Vera's face. She didn't protest, though she didn't stop the sobs. When his eyes moved slightly and caught Scully's blue, he could see she was also scared. He quickly wiped the tears off with the sleeve of Mulder's shirt, and apologized her for losing control. "I'm sorry, Scully. I just ...I should've expected this, but..." His voice shook with the force of Vera's sobs. Scully shook her head no. 'Who could blame Jake?' "It's fine, Agent Mulder. I think we've heard enough for one day." Skinner cut him off, realizing his own reaction. He cleared his throat and opted to get things under control in the outer room. "Thank you, sir." Jake nodded, and looked back at Sims, who motioned for Mulder to come help her. Sims didn't know about the switch. Mulder hesitated, but before he was able to respond, another agent in the room wheeled him into the room. He looked at Scully for help. He can't hold her. He was sick, and in lots of pain. Jake read the thought, and stood up from the seat with Vera pressed against him. Jake then knelt down in front of Mulder, so he could at least touch her. Mulder hated his broken jaw more than ever. He couldn't even say a word to this very brave, yet vulnerable, little girl. Jake watched as Mulder closed his eyes momentarily, then release a breath. The rest of Jake's tears dried instantly when he felt Mulder's hands slip beneath Vera's tiny body, and gently lifted her into his arms. Mulder's fingers combed through Vera's fine hair, and he leaned in to give her forehead a kiss before returning her to him. Jake was surprised Mulder would even try. But then, the man was desperate trying to fill in the gap left by the lost month. Vera was only months older than the time Samantha Mulder disappeared. It had to have been hell for Mulder. "Jake, it's okay. She won't get sick, and I'll take good care of her." Jake told Mulder, who nodded slightly in return. Scully placed a hand on Jake's head, then briefly touched Vera's shoulder before exiting the room with Mulder. Fairfield Central Pediatric ICU Vera's Room Noon Same Day Stella's addition into Vera's room was more than an welcome change. Vera had been sedated after the last session was over, sleeping comfortably in her bed. Jake concentrated on finishing up his work and refused to leave Vera's room, much less her bed. Jake moved Vera a few inches to the side to leave enough room for him to lay down next to Vera over the bedcovers and hold her close. He knew she was going to want physical contact, considering she could mind-scan, and the body of someone familiar and calm would only help her. The doctors complained, but Skinner backed Jack up. The doctors gave up eventually, and left the room with Skinner. So, when their favorite four-legged friend arrived and licked their faces, though Vera didn't take notice, Jake held Stella and let her lick him until his face began itching. The female agent who drove Stella from Oakland smiled broadly, and told him she enjoyed the trip because Stella was such a sweetheart. Jake thanked her and shook her hand before she exited the room. "Hey there, girl! I've missed you soooo much. How are you? I see you're doing better." It was so good to see her. He noticed the gauze still wrapped up around her torso, but it was much thinner than before. Jake happily noted the absence of blood stains. He helped her jump up on Vera's bed, and climbed down from it. Stella apparently missed Vera also, and soon curled up next to her in a familiar position and buried her nose into Vera's long streaming hair. 'Just like they used to do.' Jake laughed softly, and settled down into the chair next to the bed. Stella = lifted her head and looked at him, her doubt accentuated by her whimper. Jake shook his head no. "Stay there for now. You're our guest, and getting a special treatment." Stella gave him another whimper for a thanks, and rested her head back down. Jake wondered whether Vera would be able to speak once she woke up. She hadn't spoken since getting out of the session, and Mulder suggested them of taking time to recover from the shock. Sims expressed the same concern to Mulder, and so did Scully. Sims was to return for another session tomorrow, or the day after. Time was running out because of the progress of Vera's tumor and Dr. Claiborne, who kept in touch by phone ever since their transfer order was carried out, was strongly suggesting they at least try radiation therapy on her to slow the tumor growth. Jake and the doctors had to hold off on the plan. Having too many things going on at once was frustrating, and Jake only answered he would ask Vera if she can handle another session. And if she answers yes, then he'll ask her how long she wants to take time off. Jake thought Skinner's informing Vera of her time limit was probably why she kept on going. "Just where are you taking us to?" Jake muttered, his fingers gently caressing her arm. Fairfield Central Pediatric ICU Vera's Room 3 PM Same Day The radiology technician and the oncology department chief came into the room. Jake shook himself awake, having to doze off to an exhausted sleep. "What can I do for you, gentlemen?" Jake asked, eyeing the men wearily. "I'm here to request your cooperation on Miss. Jarvis's cancer treatment." Jake's head snapped up, suddenly realizing the hundreds of hidden statements behind the words. "You're here to discuss her treatment options." Jake spoke conspicuously, and the man in front of him nodded. There was no doubt the man was under a lot of pressure. Jake offered him a seat in the other chair across from him. The doctor nodded a thanks, and took the offered seat. "Yes, Agent Mulder. As you may already know, Miss Jarvis's condition is worsening. We may not be able to stop the further growth of her tumor, and we already know there's no cure for it. Dr. Scully has recommended to me to have her own oncologist fly in from Georgetown, for console. She believes the doctor has enough experience treating her, and probably able to handle the situation better. But she wishes to do so only at your consent." Jake's eyebrows rose. First off, Mulder is Scully's partner. Other than that and his being a psychologist, Mulder had no connection with Vera. Jake appreciated Scully's concern. "Has Mr. Kathler consented to this? Or Assistant Director Skinner?" Jake asked the anxious doctor who looked ready to break into sweat. "Yes, they all recommended that course of treatment in the future." "Well, then I have no objections. Thank you, doctor." Jake said, watching the man exit the room, nearly jumping at the sight of the two agents at the door. The poor man probably had never even seen an FBI agent in his life. And now he was being closely watched by an army of "Big League" agents, plus its Assistant Director on the top of it. Jake thought about calling Scully to thank her for the idea, but figured she'll visit them soon enough, perhaps with Mulder. He knew now that Mulder lost his memories, the man needed to get to know Vera from scratch. Any assumption / observation Mulder made of her before was gone, and Jake didn't expect the man to be the type to keep diaries. "This is a damn fine time to start, though." He mumbled to himself, and reached out to touch sleeping Vera's hair. For the millionth time Jake looked at all three of them. He missed his home, and missed Elly's home cooking before his thoughts returned to Vera's session. The Jarvis' also had a housekeeper for chores around their house. 'No wonder Vera was comfortable with Elly from the start.' Jake thought. Stella, whose eyes were open the moment the doctor had walked in, whimpered to draw his attention. He laughed. "Sorry, girl. You've been gone for so long and I'm only giving Vera my attention. I didn't mean to be inattentive, believe me. You've been with me for a long, long time. You probably know me better than anyone including Elly, because she goes home. You live with me. There's a good reason why I'm behaving this way right now. You probably know that Vera was sick. Well, she's sicker now, and it'll get worse. I already know how difficult it was for you to be with me after Alex died. And I hate to do this to you again, but there's no way Vera's going to get better. She did have a chance, but she didn't get it in time because the bad guys who shot at you and Mulder did something to Vera that made it impossible." Jake had no evidence to prove Stella understood what he was telling her, but he felt in his heart she knew what he was trying to say. "I'm sure you'll be seeing me upset. I'll probably be crying, puking my guts out, and depressed. I'll need you more than ever, Stella. And so does Vera. She has so few friends and you're one of them. And, my friend? Right now, you're the best medicine for her. I'm counting on you, so please don't ever think that I love you any less because Vera's in our lives." Jake always felt the need to explain himself to Stella, and he did so ever since he got her. She licked his hand, and placed her paw over his arm. 'Message received, loud and clear', her eyes said. Jake smiled. "Vera's incredibly strong. Stronger than any of us. And she needs us. She's taught me so much about life, and I owe her to do the same. This time, I know exactly what's going on. I know who's involved, why and how." Though not meaning to sound as though he was throwing accusations at Alex, Jake couldn't help thinking about the distinct differences in the two women in his life. Jake shook Stella's paw and let it drop from his hand. Jake looked at the time, but knew there was practically nothing to do but wait, so he began reading the rest of the women's letters. Stella grunted and went back to sleep. Jake was about ten more letters to go when the door was knocked and Scully entered with Mulder in the wheel chair. Jake welcomed them in, and offered Scully the chair the doctor vacated hours earlier. The agents were still in the same outfit as earlier in the hypnosis session. "We wanted to give you enough time to get settled down." Scully said, indicating the two sleeping forms on the bed. Mulder wrote down something on the ever-present notepad and handed it to Jake, who read it and smiled. "Yeah, this here's my long-time partner and your savior, Stella Kathler." Jake handed back the notepad, and watched as Mulder approached the now wide- awake canine and gave her a kiss on her forehead. Stella licked Mulder's face in return, and he scratched the areas around her ear and neck. Scully smiled as Stella's eyes shut and she leaned into his hand, and wondered if Mulder ever had a dog. "She'll be receiving honors equal for a service dog." Mulder wrote, running his fingers through Stella's spotted coat. Jake noticed Mulder regarded Stella with pure respect and appreciation. "She'll probably be getting an honorary diploma from the police canine school. Kinda like an honorary doctrine for humans. After the bureau will send her a thank you letter, you'll need some room set on your wall." Scully said as she observed Vera sleeping. Jake thanked her, and read Mulder's note. "I feel terrible enough that I can't remember any of it. I'm trying to catch up reading reports plus the ones done by Skinner's hand-picked experts. Looks like it was a pretty crazy incident. I'm sorry about the damage it caused you." "Hey, I told you. It couldn't have been avoided. Elly said you saved her life, and now that I've witnessed the horror those men inflict on people, I believe it's all true. The FBI repaired everything very nicely at my house. I only have complaints against the Morley Man. Who the hell is he? Obviously you know each other well." The agents shifted uncomfortably in their seats the way those San Francisco agents did. Jake waited as Mulder began to write, and Scully began her own explanations. "I first saw him on the day I was first assigned to the X-Files. He was in the room where I was being interviewed by our section chief Blevins. Cancer Man stood in a corner, smoking Morley in silence the entire time. After our first case, I saw him breeze down the hallway passing by me like I didn't even exist. Mulder had several close brush-ups in the past with him." "You mean, he's never deliberately..." "No, but he's involved in most of the crisis that happened concerning our work, in and out of the bureau. There's this man, Alex Krycek... what luck that name brings to us... Well, he was working at one time as Mulder's temporary partner while I was missing. What Mulder didn't know at the time was that Krycek was another one of Cancer Man's snitches. He worked as a Russian-American spy prior to his assignment with Mulder, and probably still does. He sells government secrets, evidences recovered in our investigations..." "Jesus, and he's still roaming around?" "Probably so. But he gets certain drawbacks." "He better. What drawbacks? A grand tour of hell?" The agents laughed a little with that one, but Mulder winced, still running his pen over the notes. Scully looked over from time to time, seeing what Mulder is trying to talk about to save his choice of topics. It was a routine quickly and silently established out of trial-and-error in between them. "As in getting beaten up a lot from his clients. By Mulder, Skinner, and some Consortium guys. He was nearly bombed along with the car he was in, and then he was trapped in an abandoned silo in North Dakota. He was found in Hong Kong by Mulder, then he killed his girlfriend after Mulder captured her. When he and Mulder were imprisoned in a concentration camp that conducted Black Cancer - it's a bio-hazardous entity of extraterrestrial origin - research located in Tunguska, Russia - Krycek sold Mulder out to the Russians. And, because he could speak Russian fluently and Mulder couldn't, Krycek took that to his advantage. He's presumed dead, but I doubt it. The point is, this man's also been through hell and survived. He's smart enough to get away from Consortium and declare Cancer Man as his sworn enemy. This is why we keep running into each other. It's easy to be fooled by this man, because he appears very innocent and young. Women can be easily fooled by his charms, because he is gorgeous. He knows how to be polite and charming, and even seductive, should the need arise." Jake's eyes rounded at the revelation. When Mulder passed his note to Jake, Scully closed her mouth and looked towards Mulder. 'Wondering if Mulder minded her description of Krycek', Jake noticed. He became an expert on women from reading their letters, and from Mulder's reaction Jake was probably right. No man liked to hear a woman he adored or respected, and especially loved, describe in detail how gorgeous another man looked. Mulder's notepad told Jake Cancer Man's history or a suspected version of it, told by one of his outside sources involved in their current investigation. Jake gasped. "Jesus! This guy was involved in the assassinations of JFK and one of your informants?" "Former informant. He died trying to protect us." Scully said solemnly. Jake kept reading. "The guy has a say in the Oscar nominations? No wonder movies I love never win!" Jake said in disgust. Mulder watched carefully as Jake's expression registered fear. "Your parents were involved in this man's work?!" Scully jumped at the statement. "What the hell are you doing, talking about this to Jake?!" She shouted, and the guard at the door peered in. "It's okay, guys. Sorry, just an argument." Jake apologized as a cover, and turned back to the notepad. Mulder was nodding, ignoring Scully. "Alex Krycek murdered your father by the order given by Cancer Man. Your sister was taken as an insurance? Just like Vera's family?" Another nod from Mulder. Scully breathed easier, finally understanding Mulder's intentions. Mulder wagged his hand until Jake passed over the notepad, and went two pages ahead to add to the last unread sentence. "Your father collected the medical files on the abductees from the State Department. Dana and your sister's files were among them ...and since it's been two years, they might have Vera's sample in the file? Oh, this just gets better and better..." Jake buried his face in the palm of his free hand. "Mulder, enough. Jake's been through..." "No, it's fine. Just let me finish..." Jake cut her off. "So, you think Consortium isn't the only ones after this investigation, but Krycek's also involved? What does Krycek want from us? The serum to sell to other countries?" Scully pursed her lips. Mulder shrugged. "This makes sense, but to tell you the truth I don't mind anyone learning about this serum and how to make it. If this is the true cure for abductees' nasal pharyngeal mass, I want the world to know." Mulder nodded and so did Scully. "But he may come to kill us, and especially Vera, to prevent us from getting to trials. Alex Krycek is a spy, but he's also an assassin for hire. There's no telling what he might do next. Once Skinner was nearly killed by him and his accomplices. Consortium also tried to eliminate or discredit Skinner several times in the past. Twice for a computer disk, and once for the murder he had been framed for. ...It had something to do with his sleeping disorders and a mythical female figured called Avatar. Krycek was involved in a couple of these attempts." "I know some of what you just mentioned. Skinner told me when I pushed him. Vera drew what she scanned from Skinner. One of them had the three of you in a three-way stand off. She also drew something about the Vietnam War." It was the agents' turn to be shocked in unison. 'Skinner told him this?' Scully was amazed. 'What is it about Jake Kathler that made people want to confess everything? To expose their darkest secrets?' But then, she should have known that natural talent about him. Vera trusted him, and all those women who had no clue who they were writing to, wanted to reveal the most private parts of their lives. And it seemed Jake was oblivious to this gift. "What do you suggest we do? Get this man's descriptions out?" Jake asked. The agents shook their heads no. "We'll be wasting our time, and I think everyone's already informed." Scully said, and Mulder quietly agreed. Jake shrugged, and finished Mulder's written notes. "Can Vera handle another session? I don't know, Mulder. She's sedated now, because it took a long time before she calmed down. I'm sorry I lost control in that room, but I was more surprised to hear Skinner's voice from the next room. Shouting the same words and time that I did." Scully remembered. "He loves her. She brought the best in him. Vera trusts him for who he really is, or was, or who he can be. It's harder for us, because we've caught him red-handed before." "It's hard for me, too. But... I think he's someone who has lost so much, and is yearning to make it up." Jake said, returning his attention to Vera and Stella. A smile broke onto his face. "Like a baby." Scully mumbled as she joined Jake's smile and watched the two heaps under the covers. Vera stirred just then, turning to her side so that her face came in direct contact with Stella. Her hand automatically searched for, and pulled Stella's furry body towards her. Just then, Mulder handed Jake thee notepad and tugged slightly at Scully, tapping his wrist. Scully's mouth half opened in realization. Jake handed Mulder his notepad back, and shook hand with Mulder. "You need to catch up, huh? Take it easy, though. It's been my greatest pleasure to finally meet you, too. ...Again." Jake laughed at the last word. "Come visit us at any time. Especially you, Mulder. You'll love Vera when she's herself. She remembers and knows you well. It doesn't take much to get to know her, I promise you." Jake gave Scully a word of thanks and a kiss on her cheek. Scully's eyebrows rose about half an inch in response, but she only smiled in return before wheeling Mulder out of the room and closed the door behind. Jake stretched his body, and resumed his reading of the letters. Fairfield Central Mulder's Room 5PM Same Day Skinner grunted, having been briefed of the meeting between the two agents and Kathler. "Agent Scully, I don't want Vera having another panic attack." "Neither do we. However, there's a chance she might not make it to trials. The courts need to hear and watch the recorded hypnosis sessions either way. Tomorrow, we'll assess Vera's medical condition and then attempt to put her under hypnosis." "She'll need to talk about what she's seen and done during the time she was missing. That's the most crucial part of my responsibilities in this investigation. Agent Scully researched the treatment and the effects of the cancer as well as its nature almost by herself, while I've been trying to gain understanding of Vera's situations. I need Vera to give us her testimony and translations of her drawings. Then, we may finally understand what happens to abductees as well as to confirm the existence of extraterrestrials..." Skinner abruptly stopped reading Mulder's note, and handed it back to him. Mulder didn't take it, focusing instead on the man's clearly frustrated eyes and clenched jaw. "Agent Mulder, I see you've been updating your memory." Skinner said, placing the notepad on Mulder's lap. "Not enough, sir." Mulder added. Skinner sighed, and stared at Scully as if begging for help. "Sir. As much as I'd like to have Vera safe by all means, wasting her life in the face of her impending death, is in itself a crime. We need to get all we can from her before it's too late. I believe Vera understands time is running out. We should do this tomorrow or after tomorrow at the latest." "All right. I'll allow the procedure to continue, but I will order Sims to slow the process down. So far, Vera relived the first seven years of her life in little more than two hours. I want the rest cut into several parts to allow her to describe her experiences in precise detail. Don't you rush it like you've done in Sacramento." Skinner cut Mulder a warning glance and left the room in a hurry. Neither Mulder or Scully had time to tell Skinner they hadn't gotten to the tapes yet. Scully sighed and picked one of the tapes up from the stack. "I guess it's about time you start watching these." She said, studying the tape. Mulder put down the medical report he'd been reading, his shirt sleeves rolled up and the tie now pulled down and hanging loosely. The suit jacket was now draped from the back of his wheelchair. He looked up to his partner and gave her a nod of agreement. He knew Scully, Skinner, and even Jake watched and read his Keneally Psychological Research Lab reports. It was like listening to people give critique on a movie they watched. Scully excused herself from the room, understanding Mulder's need for privacy. He looked at her appreciatively, and returned his focus to the screen. Fairfield Central Main Lobby 5:10 PM Same Day Scully quickly caught up with Daniel Sims as he was about to exit the building. He agreed to have a word with her, and let her take him to the cafeteria. "In your professional opinion, what do you say the possibility of Vera doing another session tomorrow?" Sims frowned. "Dr. Scully, it's not my place to judge. But if the girl feels she's ready, I'll do it. I wouldn't like it, but I understand the time constraints. I believe Agent Mulder is very close to the girl. Much closer than Mr. Kathler. Someone said Agent Mulder has experiences with regression hypno therapy. Is that correct?" "Yes, it is." "That might have something to do with it. I would like him to be present at the next session, but I'm not sure about anybody else. I want only you, Mr. Kathler, and the Assistant Director in the outer room. The three of you are capable enough to assure our safety." This was something Scully was thinking about and she agreed. "That shouldn't be a problem." She sure hoped so. The hospital was crawling with agents, and there wasn't a room for an ant to get through without a thorough check. Sims took another bite of his roast beef sandwich, and studied Scully intently from across the table. "Agent Scully?" Sims straightened himself in his seat. Scully snapped out of her reverie, and rose her eyebrows, gesturing him to continue. "I hope you won't be offended by my asking, but are you ...seeing anyone by chance?" Scully nearly choked on her coffee. She waited until the big gulp she carelessly swallowed settled down in a proper place. The man in front of her turned crimson, and began stuttering in a failed attempt of an apology. "Sorry, I'm sorry, Agent Scully, I didn't mean to..." "No, it's ...It's fine. I'm just not used to people asking me that particular question." Scully said, still covering her chest with her hand and making sure the coffee settled in her stomach. The man was in his late forties, and had a clean-shaven head. His bluish-grey eyes promised the mystery lurking somewhere under his straight-forwardness. "I'm not used to it, either. I already heard about you and Agent Mulder. Sorry, please just forget I've even asked you." "Well, whatever the allegations they posed on the relationship between me and Agent Mulder are false. We've never even tried to explore that possibility. Although I wouldn't rule it flat out, I don't believe we'll ever be lovers. Spiritually, we're already as close as humanly possible. We'll give each other's life in order to save the other. We can read each other's thoughts by the slightest change in our speech, eyes, and gestures. We're perfect partners, and Mulder believes we're inseparable. After five years of working together, I'm safe to say that myself. As for my love life... I can only say that I hadn't had much of a luck, and I'm married to my job. In sickness and health, I'll stick around." Scully smiled, and finished the rest of her coffee. Sims returned the smile with a slight laughter of embarrassment. Scully couldn't help following it, but assured the man everything will be confidential. "Doctor privilege." She joked. Continued...